


Apollo's First Christmas

by keepitdreamin



Series: A Sam/Bucky Christmas [13]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: 25 Days of Fic, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Divergence - Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Christmas, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-19
Updated: 2016-12-19
Packaged: 2018-09-09 15:03:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8895841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keepitdreamin/pseuds/keepitdreamin
Summary: The moment Sam opens his door to the Winter Soldier with snow in his hair and a tiny kittens head peeking out from the top of his jacket is the moment he decides that his life isn’t real.





	

**Author's Note:**

> what do you know? 2 fics in a day! (maybe i will get these done before Christmas??)

The moment Sam opens his door to the Winter Soldier with snow in his hair and a tiny kittens head peeking out from the top of his jacket is the moment he decides that his life isn’t real. After a moment of staring, he sighs and opens the door wider. “Well don’t stand there all day, come on in.” Sam turns and walks back in, leaving the door open. His life isn’t real anyway, what’s the worst that can happen?

The Winter Soldier (Barnes? James? Bucky?) follows him silently. Well, mostly silent. The cat ruins it by starting to squeak softly. Sam glances back and bites back a smile when he sees the Winter Solider using one finger to scratch the kitten’s head softly. It’s such a… _gentle_ scene that Sam can almost forget this is the same guy he very nearly died fighting a few months ago.

“So…” Sam starts when they’re standing facing each other in the living room. “You’re here.”

It’s not actually a question but he nods, still looking down at the kitten. He’s not offering up anything though so Sam asks, _“Why?”_

He looks up finally and Sam really gets a chance to _see_ him. He is thinner, his hair is longer and tied back messily, his beard is scruffy, and his clothes are old. If Sam saw him on the street, he’d probably assume he was a homeless vet which, technically, would be true. His voice is rough from disuse, but his eyes are startlingly clear, when he says, “I found this… kitten. I don’t know what to do with it and you’re...” he looks like he’s searching for the right word, “ _good_.”

“Good?” Sam asks in surprise. “You know Steve lives near here right?”

He shakes his head, jaw clenched. “He wants me to be someone and I’m _not_.”

“Well,” Sam says as neutrally as he can, “who are you then?”

He turns back to the kitten and scratches its head lightly before he answers, “… James."

“Nice to meet you James. I’m Sam. Now, let’s see what we can do for this little guy.”

When they reach the kitchen, Sam opens the fridge, realizes he doesn’t know what he’s looking for, and pulls out his phone. “Uh, Siri? What can kittens eat?”

-

So it turns out kittens need special kitten formula at this age, so Sam grabs his boots and coat and they head back out. The pet store is about to close when they show up, but one peak at the kitten and the employee coos and helps them out.

“Where’d you find this little guy?” they ask as they sort through some different formula options.

Sam looks at James who’s cradling the kitten in his hand now to answer. “In the snow in an alley.”

“Aw, well he’s in good hands now,” they coo as they grab a few more things before leading them to the register.

“Here,” they rummage around underneath for a moment before pulling out a piece of paper. “This is our official how to care for new kittens sheet. There’s some vet numbers listed on the bottom; you’re going to need to get him vaccinated later but he should probably be checked out sooner.”

-

“Oliver,” Sam says and James shakes his head. They’re sitting on the floor of Sam’s kitchen a week later with the kitten between them playing with a tiny mouse toy. “Jorge? Bob?” he tries and nudges the toy so the kitten pounces on it. James actually cracks a smile when he shakes his head this time. Sam, who has seen exactly 3 smiles this week, is inordinately proud of himself. “Okay, well we can’t keep calling him Kitten forever.” James shrugs and ducks his head, hair falling around his face; it’s cleaner now and soft looking and Sam maaaaaybe kinda really wants to gently brush it away and run his fingers through it. He suspects that James would take to that like the kitten to scratches and he’s actually really interested in if he could get a purr out of a human.

James hums and wriggles a finger at the kitten till he rubs up against it for scratches. “Apollo,” he says finally and the kitten mewls as if in agreement.

Sam reaches out and scratches the kitten as well. “Apollo,” he says consideringly. “I like it.”

-

The next week Steve shows up while James is out, looking pissed and betrayed. He’s only subdued when Apollo who’s wearing a tiny Santa hat and a little bell collar pounces on his shoelaces.

“You got a cat together.” He observes a little later when Apollo is curled up purring on his lap.

Sam shrugs mildly. “I’m like 90% certain my life is one big cosmic Punk’d episode and Ashton Kutcher is going to show up and none of it will be real. Adopting a cat with an ex brainwashed assassin from the 40s isn’t even the strangest thing I’ve done this _year_.”

Steve dips his head in acceptance of that fact and they sit in silence for a long while, only broken when Steve says, “I like his hat. Very… festive.”

Sam grins and leans forward to scratch under Apollo’s chin. “Honestly, I’m surprised he’s wearing it. My aunt Tilly had a cat when I was growing up, and she was the sweetest thing in the world till you tried putting any clothes on her. Then she’d just _flip the fuck out_. One time my uncle—”

-

With every passing day, Sam is more and more certain a SWAT team (or whatever the “secret organization” equivalent was) or, more likely, assassins were going to show up at his door. Except... nothing happened. There were no raids on his apartment, no gunshots through the window. Just him and James (who had stayed that first night and just never left; Sam wasn’t going to mention it because he _really_ didn’t mind) and Apollo living a domestic life.

There’s issues of course: Sam is woken up twice to James screaming, and James is woken by Sam’s nightmares as well. On those nights, they’ll sit in the living room with Apollo curled between them, and Sam will put on an old sitcom (James is particularly fond of “I Love Lucy,” “I Dream of Jeanie,” and “The Addams Family”) and they’ll just watch till they drift off again. And James either won’t eat, or insists on tasting everything before Sam does. The 4th time this happens, Sam has to ask and he explains stiffly that he can taste various kinds of poisons. He looks shifty and like he doesn’t really want to be talking about it, so Sam doesn’t bring _that_ up again. But sometimes he makes more kinds of food than strictly necessary so he’s sure James is getting his major food groups. And occasionally, Apollo moves to fast from out of nowhere and one or both of them will grab for their guns or knives. They never actually _shoot_ the cat because they’re _professionals_ but it keeps them on edge for a few hours after.

But, otherwise, it’s the best time Sam has ever lived with anyone.

-

It’s almost a surprise when James kisses him. It’s New Years and they’re holing up in Sam’s soundproof room with the ball drop playing on low on the TV. They bought Apollo some new toys for Christmas and he’s really fond of one in particular: a “teaser wand” that cost _12 dollars_ and Sam is appalled at himself for actually buying what amounts to a stick with a bit of wire and a feather attached to it. Apollo likes chasing the feather though and James likes swinging the wand and Sam likes watching the two of them playing so it’s not _really_ a waste.

It happens when it’s nearly 2 am. Apollo is curled up on Sam’s pillow (Sam has already given up on a life where he doesn’t wake up with cat hair on his face), and Sam and James are still on the floor, sitting a bit too close together against the end of the bed and watching an I Love Lucy rerun: “Job Switching,” one of Sam’s favorite episodes for the candy wrapping scene if for nothing else (also he might kind of have a thing for Ricky in an apron, with the classic rolled sleeves and _two_ packs of cigarettes, it’s quite a look). Lucy and Ethel have just come home when James reaches over and puts his hand over Sam’s. Sam turns his head to the side and then there’s a soft, dry press of lips against his.

It’s over quickly and then James is turning back to watch as Ricky and Fred present the boxes of chocolates. Sam watches him for a moment before turning back to the TV himself, flipping his hand so their fingers interlaced.

**Author's Note:**

> I kind of really want this to be longer (with way more interactions with the rest of the team) but I don't have the energy. Maybe someday I'll come back to it.


End file.
